“I Truly Wish I Never Went to a Mental Health Service”

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From The Age: “[Victoria, Australia] Premier Daniel Andrews on Wednesday pledged to hold a royal commission into the state’s mental health system, in a surprise move he said would address early intervention and better support for families. […]

‘We are so far away from a system that the most vulnerable in our community need and they’re right to demand that of us.’ […]

Indigo Daya, the human rights adviser with the Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council, said it was vital a future royal commission also consider the ‘harm and abuse’ that happened to people while in care.

She said a decade spent in and out of psychiatric wards did her more harm than good, as she had electroconvulsive therapy and medication forced on her, but received no counselling.

It was only after she went to a sexual assault centre that she got the help needed to deal with her experience being sexually abused as a child.

‘I truly wish I never went to a mental health service, which is a real indictment on a huge big system that is meant to help people,’ Ms Daya said.”

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9 COMMENTS

  1. ME TOO

    The National Institute of Clinical Excellence NICE neither mentions AKATHISIA nor Suicidal Reaction in connection to this drug…

    https://bnf.nice.org.uk/drug/fluphenazine-decanoate.html

    ….as Dr Allen Frances (et al) identify (below)

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/6886035/

    My experience is that this drug causes suicide and disability, and that the longterm withdrawal syndrome from this drug “is worse” than “schizophrenia”.

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  2. “I Truly Wish I Never Went to a Mental Health Service”

    Thinking about this. There ARE good things within the NHS. To be honest, almost everything except psychiatry, and thats a terrible state of affairs. Pyschology, care co-ordinators, peer support, nurses, OT, psycho-social interventions, social workers are all good but in short supply.

    But the psychiatrist is the weak link. Mono-dimensional, gloomy, medication obsessed, propogandist, they control access to these other services. It feels like everyone is trying to get you better, except the psychiatrist who is simply trying to convince you that your disability is permanent and make you medication dependent. And everyone knows it. I mean, really, are they on your side? I honestly don’t know, and I don’t think they do either.

    It has to change, because the psychiatrist is almost becoming laughable if it wasn’t so tragic. Anyone who is in the system now, count the times you hear “chemical imbalance”, “antidepressants are safe and effective in kids”, “antipsychotics correct brain chemistry”, “trial and error will find us the right med for you”, “you can’t recover on psychology alone”, “its no big deal prescribing off-label”, “the side effects wear off”, “all the evidence suggests….”, “we will keep the dose and duration as minimal as possible” – all of which is nonsense.

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    • The NHS is a fantastic system, except for the chemical imbalance in the brain problem. But the good news is that British Psychologists are successfully challenging this outlook.

      We know at Mad in America, that only people that reject chemical means, get completely better

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      • The poor psychologist is basically employed by the psychiatrist and is in the invidious position of not being able to speak their mind about drugs, and not being trusted by the person in therapy. They would not subscribe to the “medication first” philosophy in a million years, and they end up going through therapy with a semi zombie in front of them.

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        • In the states, psychologists want, and in some cases, are being granted prescribing privileges. Not all psychologists, mind you, but some. The claim is that there are too few psychiatrists in rural areas, and so psychologists have to assume part of their role. The system is a problem, surely, but I would be a little wary of any psychology against psychiatry argument. Mostly the two professions are completely in cahoots.

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        • Concerned..,

          The British Psychologists have successfully challenged the “SSRI Solution”. Plus they are challenging the monopoly on the “Severe Mental Illnesses”.

          But I know what you mean by the situation you have described – its like everyone is a victim in the situation.

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          • Interesting perspective from America and signs of a backbone from British psychologists.

            I do actually think most British psychologists are silently fuming at drug happy psychiatrists. I can’t believe they want therapy when the person in front of them is clobbered by an antipsychotic.

            I just cannot bring myself to trust the clinical psychologist. Everything goes in the notes straight to the psychiatrist who believes that any psychological trait , whether it’s suicide, self harm, misapprehensions (they call them delusions) can be medicated. Yes, they will say this with a straight face, and they will thumb though the drug handbook for something that can do “a little bit of this, a bit of that” in order to “shift” your thoughts. And they won’t think about what it will be like to get you off it because it will always be someone else’s problem.

            If you can afford it, a private psychologist is a breath of fresh air, unfettered, honest and confidential. But the NHS will do everything they can (which is not very much actually) to stop this.

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  3. I found the psychologists to be in bed with the psychiatrists, so my psychologist was every bit, if not more evil, than the psychiatrists. Social workers were also harmful, to me, and attempted to harm my child. Child Protective Services does not investigate legitimate cases of child abuse, even once the medical evidence of such is handed over. Nurses were unhelpful for three and a half years, while I was being massively poisoned, but they did finally hand over my families’ medical records, which was helpful.

    Personally I think the whole “mental health system” should be scrapped, since the primary actual function of today’s “mental health system” is covering up child abuse. And our society as a whole is not benefitted by having a multibillion dollar, iatrogenic illness creating, primarily child abuse covering up, pedophile empowerment system.

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